Evryn was resting when the knock came.
She sat up slowly, brushing the lingering warmth of sleep from her thoughts before smoothing the covers and crossing the room.
When she opened the door, three maids stood outside, heads bowed low enough that their hair fell forward.
“My lady,” one said gently, her voice careful.
“We were instructed to bring your garments.”
They stepped aside, revealing covered trays and a tall wardrobe carried with quiet effort.
“These are for your use,” the maid continued.
“If any do not suit you, we will replace them immediately.”
Evryn’s gaze moved from the trays to their faces.
There was tension there…not fear of her, but of failing expectations she did not fully understand yet.
“Alright,” she said softly.
They entered at once.
The covers were lifted one by one.
Sleeping gowns first…soft linen, long-sleeved, modest, falling well below the knees.
Practical.
Comfortable.
Nothing sheer.
Nothing designed to display skin rather than offer rest.
Day dresses followed.
Layered, structured, made for movement rather than ornament.
High collars.
Fitted waists.
Skirts that allowed walking, working, bending without exposure.
Darker tones for ordinary days.
Lighter fabrics edged with restrained embroidery for formal hours.
Even the ceremonial garments were composed with restraint…rich materials, careful tailoring, but covering.
Elegant without provocation.
Auren had paid attention as always.
Evryn felt something inside her chest loosen…a quiet relief she hadn’t realized she was holding.
“I like them,” she said honestly.
Relief passed through the room like a soft exhale.
As the maids began placing the garments away, one hesitated near the bathing chamber.
“My lady,” she asked carefully, “shall we prepare the bath for you?”
“I can do it myself,” Evryn replied.
The maids exchanged uncertain glances.
Evryn noticed…the flicker of worry, not directed at her, but toward the unseen weight of their lord’s expectations.
“It’s fine,” Evryn said, then paused.
“Actually…
it’s okay.
You can do your job.”
They bowed, gratitude clear in the movement.
Evryn stepped into the warm water slowly, When the bath was ready and the maids had withdrawn, Heat wrapped around her limbs, sinking into muscles she hadn’t realized were tense.
She leaned back against the stone, closing her eyes, letting the silence hold her.
“Don’t get used to it, Evryn,” she told herself.
“You’ll go back home soon.”
The thought should have steadied her.
Instead, her mind drifted…uninvited…back to the garden.
The rare flowers.
The layered scents.
The way the soil had looked beneath her fingers, waiting.
Her hands twitched slightly beneath the water.
I need to start tomorrow, she thought suddenly.
She pushed herself up from the bath and stepped out it.
I need to plan…
The floor beneath her feet was too smooth.
Polished, her foot slipped.
The world tilted violently.
She hit the floor hard.
Pain exploded through her back, sharp and immediate, stealing the air from her lungs.
A cry tore from her before she could stop it.
She lay there, stunned, the ache spreading outward until movement felt impossible.
She couldn’t breathe.
One thought cut through the pain like lightning.
Auren will feel this.
“Evryn…!”
Her heart slammed painfully against her ribs.
“Don’t!” she shouted, panic overtaking pain.
“Don’t look!”
He turned instantly, his body twisting away, even though he had already seen bare skin, water, her on the floor…vulnerable, shaken.
“I’m not looking,” he said tightly.
“Just steady your breathing”
She gasped, forcing air into her lungs, every movement sending fire through her back.
“My body wants to reach you,” he continued, his voice strained with control.
“I’m stopping it.
hardly”
“Damn that spell,” she hissed, focusing through the pain.
“I’m fine.”
She wasn’t but saying it felt necessary.
After a moment, she asked, quieter now, “How is it now?”
There was a pause.
“I’m controlled,” he said.
He stepped back and out, pulling the broken door closed as far as it would go.
Evryn lay there for another second before reaching for a towel, wrapping it tightly around herself.
She rose slowly, every movement deliberate, measured.
“I think I almost broke my back,” she muttered under her breath.
Auren crossed his arms, steadying himself.
he said calmly.
“Walk Slowly.”
“I have no choice” she said, her tone suggested it.
There was a moment of shuffling, then quiet.
A moment later, she stepped out of the bathing room wrapped tightly in a towel, hair wet and dripping, one hand pressed carefully to her side.
She froze when she saw him still there.
“You didn’t leave.”
“I never said I would,” he replied evenly, deliberately ignoring the way her bare skin disrupted his focus.
Her mouth tightened.
“Then you should.”
She moved to the door and pulled it open for him, a clear invitation for his exit.
Instead of passing her, he stepped closer.
His palm came down against the wood beside her head, pushing the door shut and sliding the lock into place.
The sound was quiet.
Final.
Evryn stepped back without thinking, her pulse jumping sharp and fast.
“What,” she asked slowly, “was that for?”
He turned his head just enough to look at her properly now, his silver eyes dark with a sudden, playful heat.
“Do you have any idea,” he said, his voice low and tightly controlled, “how much effort it took not to look at you back there?”
He took a step toward her, continue calmly “To turn away, under the pain of the spell.”
Slow.
Intentional.
Her spine straightened instantly.
“You survived, didn’t you?”
She backed away further, her damp hair leaving a trail of droplets on the floor.
“Stop walking at me like that.”
“Like what?” he asked mildly, a ghost of a smirk tugging at his lips.
He took another step, closing the distance she tried so hard to maintain.
He could feel her through the bond…not pain, not fear.
Irritation.
Bright and sharp in his chest.
She wasn’t afraid.
She was annoyed.
Defensive.
Fully herself.
She retreated until the edge of the bed struck the backs of her legs.
Her balance tipped, and before she could fall, his hand closed around hers…firm, steady, and entirely controlled.
“Careful,” he murmured.
She looked up at him, her eyes flashing.
Her breath was coming fast, and she knew he could feel the frantic pulse in her wrist against his palm.
“If you’re trying to intimidate me,” she said tightly, “at least admit it.” Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Auren stopped moving.
He didn’t pull away, but he ceased the predatory advance that had driven her back.
A slow smile curved across his mouth…deliberate, knowing, and dangerously handsome.
“You should see your face,” he said quietly, his voice like velvet over gravel.
“You look like I’m threatening your life.”
“You locked the door and advanced,” she retorted, her chin lifting.
“What reaction were you expecting?
Applause?”
A low laugh escaped him.
It wasn’t the cold laugh of a king, but the genuine amusement of a man who found her fire refreshing.
“You’re insufferable, Auren.”
“And you’re dramatic,” he countered, clearly amused.
Even in the middle of their tension, she had a way of making him feel lighter, as if her spirit was the only thing that could cut through the centuries of his boredom.
She tried to pull her hand free, but he didn’t release her immediately.
He didn’t tighten his grip either; he simply held her there, anchored in that suffocatingly close space between the bed and the radiating heat of his body.
“I hate that you enjoy this,” she muttered.
She tried to keep her voice sharp, but her irritation was now colored with a reluctant curiosity.
His gaze dropped briefly to her lips, a move so intentional it made her throat tighten, before returning to her eyes.
“I don’t enjoy confusing you, Evryn,” he said, his voice becoming soft and unguarded.
A beat of heavy silence passed between them, one where the memory of their last kiss seemed to flash through the air like lightning.
“I simply enjoy you”.
He tilted his head, his smirk returning as he caught a stray droplet of water falling from her wet hair.
Auren’s gaze shifted.
He wasn’t looking at the towel or her embarrassment; he was watching the way she stood…stiff, tense, and clearly trying to hide her discomfort.
“Still hurt?” he asked quietly.
“It’s nothing,” she said, her voice steady despite the way her ankle throbbed.
“I just slipped.”
“I will send you a healer,” he insisted, his tone leaving little room for argument.
“Before it gets worse.”
“No.” Her voice softened, but she remained firm.
“I’m fine.
Don’t make it into something big.
I can look after myself.”
He studied her for a long moment, his silver eyes searching hers for the truth.
Finally, he nodded and released her hand.
The sudden loss of his touch felt colder than she expected.
“Be more careful,” he said.
She held his gaze, refusing to flinch or look away.
That steadiness…that refusal to be small in his presence…pleased him more than he wanted to admit.
He lifted his hand and brushed a damp strand of hair from her shoulder.
The touch was brief, almost hesitant.
For a split second, his body leaned forward on instinct, drawn to her like a moth to a flame…
and then he stopped.
He already knew the answer.
She was a wall he couldn’t climb yet.
She would not let him closer, and he was a man who knew the value of patience.
He stepped back instead, creating a distance that felt like a physical weight.
Without another word, he turned and left, closing the door softly behind him.
Evryn stood there, frozen.
Her heart was still racing against her ribs, and her fingers tightened around the towel until her knuckles turned white.
The room felt different now….
too quiet, too empty, as if he had taken all the air with him when he left.
It wasn’t because of what he’d done.
It was because of how carefully he hadn’t done anything.
He hadn’t forced her.
He hadn’t used his power.
He had seen her boundary and respected it.
It irritated her.
She wanted to be angry at him, to call him a monster or a tyrant.
But his restraint and his quiet attention were harder to fight than his arrogance.
And as the silence settled around her, her thoughts refused to let him go.
She hated that he was under her skin.
She hated the way his eyes looked when they softened.
And worse than all of that…
it made her want to see him again.